The Time I Bought a Demi-Human

Can I Call You Master?

I peek over the second-floor banister as I shuffle Lucy into my room. The blinds to the balcony are closed. They are never like that. Isabelle and Jake must be out there. I feel my face heat at the thought. How will I be able to clean out there tomorrow? I will only be able to think about what happened.

Lucy jumps into my bed, still slightly damp and naked. It irritates me a little, but the joy of her being here erases that.

"Tell me, what happened after I got away?" I ask in a rush, climbing in beside her. I'm wearing a nightgown now, having dressed while talking with Isabelle. Lucy doesn't let me think back to that conversation.

"Oh, not much. Meowster Avery was found dead and I slipped away in the confusion."

The statement confuses me. The first thing Pures do when investigating a death is grab all the Demi-Humans for questioning. There's no way the younger Avery would let her go. I don't let my doubt show.  Instead, I just respond normally.

"I see. Why did you come here?"

Lucy looks hurt and I feel bad.

"Can't I just want to see you, Mills?"

Damn it, Jake. Why did you have to make me so suspicious of her? I force the emotions away.

"Of course, you can. It's just not safe. The DDHA will be watching me and I don't want you to get caught as a runaway."

The concern in my voice makes Lucy perk up.

"It'll be okay, Mila." She says, snuggling into me, purring softly. "All will be well, you'll see."

Before too long, she's snoring quietly, passed out. I try to sleep, too. Her presence is comforting, yet I can't let go of my suspicions.

************

I finally drift off a while later. When I wake, I'm not sure what time it is, but I know it has to be mid-morning. My clock is covered by a shirt and I don't move it.

I get out of my empty bed and take care of my morning rituals before peeking towards the master bedroom and back toward the banister. I can smell Jake's cooking, but I can hear someone in his room. Should I look in there or join Jake? I find myself walking towards the room.

Isabelle is sitting on the large bed, wearing Jake's shirt again. This time, it's a graphic tee with a snarky saying on it. Half of her hair is messy and she's grinning, running a brush through her golden tangles.

"Good morning, Izzy. How was your night?" Despite my gut roiling at the question, I add a bit of teasing to the words.

She gives me a big smile and waves. "Oh, Mila. Good morning. Well, almost noon now." She looks off past me for a moment, as if deciding how to answer the question. "Last night was amazing. How is Lucy?"

"Surprisingly fine. She...seems so anyway." I still have a funny feeling. The entire time I was with her after she came upstairs, something felt off.

She finishes brushing her hair quickly then stands up and walks over to me. I can see she's wearing panties this time. I don't know why I checked. I guess after our conversation last night, it would be hard not to. I saw way more of her, on multiple levels, than I expected.

"That's great. Should we check and see what Jake is making for us?"

I feel excitement bubble up in me that I push away. Can't think about breakfast right now.

"Before we go. I wanted to talk about last night."

Isabelle smiles and pats me gently on the head, just where I love it the most.